Trump Hotel Loses Another Celebrity Chef Over Immigration Comments

Receive the latest the-scene updates in your inbox

Chef Geoffrey Zakarian at an event at the 2015 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Zakarian says he will not open a restaurant in Donald Trump's planned D.C. hotel. (Photo by Dylan Rives/Getty Images for SOBEWFF)

Another celebrity chef has decided not to open a restaurant in Donald Trump's planned Trump International Hotel, which the real estate magnate is developing in Washington, D.C.'s Old Post Office Pavilion building.

Geoffrey Zakarian, a restaurateur known for his Food Network appearances, announced late Thursday that he would not open a restaurant planned for the project following the Republican presidential candidate's anti-immigration comments.

"The recent statements surrounding Mexican immigrants by Donald Trump do not in any way align with my personal core values," Zakarian said in a statement. "In light of this, I am unable to move forward with a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel."

The Iron Chef, who comes from a family of Armenian immigrants, echoed Andres' concerns, noting that his company, Zakarian Hospitality, "employs many immigrants from nations all over the world, and I look forward to continuing this business culture in my future restaurants."

"We are a nation built from immigrants, my family included," Zakarian said.